SYSPRO Services
SYSPRO Services provide a communication interface between various applications (e.g. SYSPRO Espresso, SYSPRO Reporting Services, SYSPRO Workflow Services, SYSPRO Harmony, SYSPRO Point of Sale, etc).
These services typically run in the background, so you don't interact with them directly. However, if a service is not running, then applications that rely on that service won't function properly.
Exploring
Viewing services from within Windows
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Load the Administrative Tools menu of the Windows Control Panel and select the Services application.
This displays information about all services on your computer, including SYSPRO-specific services.
Default install locations
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During the installation of SYSPRO services, you can choose the destination folder.
By default, 64-bit services are installed to: C:\Program Files\SYSPRO\{Name-of-service}\.
Terminology
Business object
Business objects are portions of SYSPRO business logic that can be called programmatically from outside of SYSPRO, passed instructions in XML, and return the results in XML (updating the database, if required).
They are COM-based components that allow third party developers to access the rich functionality of the SYSPRO core product. Each third party application typically uses a number of e.net Business Objects that are licensed at functional area level. Functional areas are merely a grouping of Business Objects.
COM
Component Object Model, or COM, is a Microsoft standard used for applications to communicate with one another.
Connected Services
SYSPRO's Connected Services consist of multiple capabilities that provide integration touch points between SYSPRO and external parties.
Existing Connected Services include:
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e.net Solutions
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SYSPRO Supply Chain Portal (available from SYSPRO 8 2019 R2)
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Tax Connector - Avalara (available from SYSPRO 8 2021 R1)
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Tax Connector - Vertex (available from SYSPRO 8 2021 R1)
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Data Connector - OData (available from SYSPRO 8 2021 R2)
DCOM
Distributed Component Object Model, or DCOM, is a set of components that assist in the communication between a client and server.
Endpoint
The endpoint is a device or node that is connected to the local area network or wide area network and accepts communications back and forth across the network.
REST
Representation State Transfer (REST) provides a structured and accessible way of accessing a service. It does not consume as much bandwidth as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and is more suitable for use over the Internet.
It uses a simple URL (instead of XML) to obtain information in a form that's easy to parse within the language you need for your application.
Rule
Rules consist of conditions and actions.
A condition is evaluated and (if true) the SYSPRO Rules Engine initiates the defined actions.
Rule action
Actions are executed when the conditions of a rule are met.
For example:
These actions range from displaying a Harmony message, to creating a log file in a specific location, or tracking the history of a specific database column.
Rule condition
Conditions act as triggers that initiate a specific action according to how they have been configured.
They let you fine-tune a rule with the records to be excluded and when certain actions must be performed (i.e. they act as a set of conditional expressions that must be met before any rule actions are performed).
Rule target
A rule target indicates the database table to which a rule applies, as well as the operation on that table (e.g. All, Insert, Update or Delete).
Targets can be set as company-specific or system-wide.
Rule variable
Variables are used to define or manipulate any values required in the conditions or actions of a rule. The different property packets of a variable include the following:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
|
New |
Variables that begin with this property packet contain the new values of a record after an insert or update occurs. They are only available for Insert or Update type operations. |
|
Old |
Variables that begin with this property packet contain the previous value of a record before an update or delete occurs. They are only available for Update or Delete type operations. |
|
Current |
Variables that begin with this property packet contain the current value of a record. This is useful if the record has changed since the SYSPRO 8 Rules Data Service flagged the transaction. Most of the time these values are the same as the New variables. We recommend using the New property packet, as Current variables have a slight overhead. |
|
Global |
Variables that begin with this property packet are values related to the transaction, such as:
|
|
Var |
Variables that begin with this property packet are custom variables that have been defined in the Variables pane of the Rules Administrator program. |
Run Time Product
SYSPRO has commercial arrangements with several Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). The products that ISVs develop require integration into SYSPRO, often using e.net Solutions to call e.net business objects.
Run Time Product licenses are issued for this purpose as they allow third-party products to connect seamlessly to e.net Solutions at a SYSPRO site (if they've selected to license the Run Time Product) without any further e.net licensing implications.
While the Run Time Product license doesn't require any additional configuration or assignment of licenses at the site, the SYSPRO site must have licensed the underlying required module.
For example:
If the Run Time Product accesses the Accounts Receivable Query Functional Area, then the SYSPRO site must have also licensed the Accounts Receivable module (which would inevitably be the case otherwise there wouldn't be any Accounts Receivable data).
Run Time Products were typically allowed open access to any e.net functional area (i.e. Standard Run Time license). However, due to functional enhancements from SYSPRO 8 2021 R1 onwards, only Managed Run Time licenses now apply.
This means that a limited number of functional areas are accessible by the Run Time Products.
The Run Time Products definition file lists the e.net functional areas required and the license generated and applied at the SYSPRO site ensures that only these functional areas are licensed.
You can check the type of access for your Run Time Product, by viewing the Run Time Products pane of the Company Maintenance program (indicated in the Access column).
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a method of calling a service if you are using managed code. It has a strong support for data types. It requires writing or using a provided server program (to serve data) and a client program (to request data).
It is an XML-based messaging protocol that allows programs which are running on different operating systems to communicate using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). It defines a standard set of rules for structuring messages that can be used for simple one-way messaging.
Sychronous/asynchronous
The synchronous method calls the service and waits for a response before allowing execution to continue.
The asynchronous method can initially call a service method and then continue executing other tasks while the service processes the method. When the method completes, a call back event on the client is fired and the client application can then proceed with processing the output result.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP, is one of the core protocols used to enable communication between computers on a network.
WCF
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a technology that forms part of the Microsoft .NET Framework. It provides a set of APIs (Application Programming Interface) for building connected, service-oriented applications. It was designed using SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) principles to support distributed computing where services have remote consumers.
Web services
A web service is any piece of software that makes itself available over the internet and uses a standardized XML messaging system. XML is used to encode all communications to a web service (e.g. a client invokes a web service by sending an XML message, then waits for a corresponding XML response).
Solving
FAQs
What is the difference between a service operator and a normal operator?
Service operators are signed in by a SYSPRO service and are used for any functionality that is required by the service to obtain information about SYSPRO.
Normal operators sign in to SYSPRO with a username and password. They access certain programs and functions to perform specific tasks.
For example:
the __SRS service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Reporting Host Service to obtain information about the companies in an environment, but it isn't used by the business object to retrieve the data for a report, as that would be the specific normal operator that submits the request for the report.
What are service operators and what are they used for?
Service operators are created by SYSPRO and are used by SYSPRO services to obtain information about SYSPRO.
The service operator code starts with a double underscore to differentiate them from other operators. A default company code must be assigned to each service operator within the Operator Maintenance program, as we use the company code to log in the service operator via e.net .
The following is a list of service operators and their function within SYSPRO:
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The __ADSYNC service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Active Directory Sync Service to push Microsoft Active Directory (AD) information into SYSPRO for Active Directory managed operators.
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The __DFM service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Document Flow Manager Folder Poller and SYSPRO 8 Document Flow Manager Queue Poller to monitor folders, send files to the queue and process files.
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The __ESP service operator is used by the following services:
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SYSPRO 8 Espresso Service,
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SYSPRO 8 Espresso Notification Service,
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SYSPRO Espresso Development Plugin and the
- SYSPRO Avanti Web Service to obtain information for the password reset and forgot password functionality.
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The __POS service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Point of Sale Services to determine and validate the setup options and required credentials at start up, update the required databases and post to SYSPRO (if the Point of Sale operator doesn't have access to SYSPRO).
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The __RUL service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Rules Engine Service and the SYSPRO 8 Rules Data Service.
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The __SA service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Analytics service to make business object calls.
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The __SAI service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Machine Learning service.
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The __SRS service operator is used by the SYSPRO 8 Reporting Host Service and the SYSPRO 8 Cognitive Service to manage client-side report printing.
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Only specific services use service operators to log in via e.net.
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SYSPRO creates service operators by copying the ADMIN operator. If the ADMIN operator record doesn't exist (i.e. it may have been deleted), then the current operator is used when saving system details from the Setup Options program.
Using
Tasks
Check whether a service is running
- Open the Services facility, viewing by large icons (Control Panel > System and Security Administrative Tools > Services).
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Locate the service you want to review.
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Review the entry in the Status column.
A status of Running indicates the service is running.
Creating a user to run on local machine
We recommend that you run Document Flow Manager with its own operating system user. The reason for this is that the services do not function correctly if configured to run as the local system account. It is also easier to configure permissions against a defined user than compromise one that was originally created to serve a different purpose.
If the DFM Folder Poller service only needs to poll folders on the SYSPRO application server, then you only need to create a local user account. If it needs to poll folders on other machines (or the Email Folder Poller service is also being used) then you must create the user as a domain user.
- Open the Computer Management facility, viewing by large icons (Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management).
- Navigate to the Local Users and Groups folder.
- Right-click on the User folder and select New User from the menu..
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Enter the required user details.
We recommend that you uncheck the option: User must change password at next logon and enable the option: Password never expires. Otherwise, when you need to change the password the DFM services will stop functioning and the password against the services will need to be changed manually.
- Exit the Computer Management facility.
Starting and stopping a service manually
Ensure that SQL Server is running before starting any of the services, as the service attempts to log in to SYSPRO to ensure that the company license information includes the e.net System Manager and Document Flow Manager. This will not be possible if SQL Server is not running.
- Open the Services facility, viewing by large icons (Control Panel > System and Security Administrative Tools > Services).
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Locate the service you want to review.
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Review the entry in the Status column.
- If the status is Running, it indicates that service is running. You can select the Stop Service icon to stop the service.
- If the status is not running, nothing is displayed in the Status column. You can select the Start Service icon to start the service.
Configuring a user to run as a service
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Open the Local Security Policy facility, viewing by large icons (Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management).
- Expand the Local Policies folder.
- Select the User Rights Assignment sub-folder.
- Right-click on the Log on as a service policy.
- Select Properties from the menu.
- Locate the user you want to configure.
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Configure the user to run as a service.
- Select Add User or Group.
- Select Locations.
- Select your local machine name and then select OK.
- Enter the name of the DFM user that you created on your local machine.
- Select Check Names to confirm that the user name entered is valid.
- Exit the Local Security Policy facility.
Referencing
Summary list of services
| Service | SYSPRO application affected |
|---|---|
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SYSPRO 8 Active Directory Sync Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Analytics |
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| SYSPRO Application Gateway |
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| SYSPRO Avanti Web Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Avanti Initialization Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Cognitive Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Communications Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Document Flow Manager Folder Poller |
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| SYSPRO 8 Document Flow Manager Queue Poller |
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| SYSPRO 8 e.net Communications Load Balancer |
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| SYSPRO 8 Espresso Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Espresso Notification Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Harmony API Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Harmony Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Machine Learning |
|
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SYSPRO OData Service |
|
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SYSPRO 8 Point of Sale e.net Communication Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Point of Sale Services |
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| SYSPRO 8 Point of Sale Utility Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Reporting Host Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Rules Data Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Rules Engine Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Service Upgrade Manager |
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| SYSPRO 8 Web Service |
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| SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service |
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